Astros Minor League Depth - Utility Players

[4/13/14 UPDATE: Brian Blasik is no longer with the organization.]

Time to wrap up the series on Astros minor league depth with those unsung heroes ... the utility players. Their 2013 stats are ranked from high to low in terms of on-base percentage and I have split them into two groups, those who finished the season at Advanced A Lancaster or higher and those who finished the season at Low A Quad Cities or one of the short season teams.



Let me just start by saying that I have no idea why I put Ronald Torreyes in this group when I made my initial list. My logic probably revolved around the fact that he played mostly second base when he was in the Cubs organization (before being traded to the Astros for international signing pool space), but was used more at short than at second after coming to the Houston organization, and I simply didn't know where to put him. Torreyes will likely be a pure middle infielder unlike the other players in this list. With that said, the 21-year old Venezuelan hit .263/.340/.384 in 65 games in the AA Southern League and .278/.310/.344 in 38 games in AA Corpus Christi in 2013.

Now, on to the true utility players which I define as those who are routinely used in both middle infield and corner infield positions, as well as some possible outfield duty. Three of these players were used in both the infield and the outfield: Andy Simunic, Ruben Sosa and Raoul Torrez.

Simunic played in 20 games in right field, 11 at second base, nine at third base, three in left field and he pitched in one game. It was that pitching stint that landed the 28-year old 17th round draft pick from 2008 on the DL. Simunic has a career batting line of .277/.359/.340.

Andy Simunic - June 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Ruben Sosa started the season and ended the season at Oklahoma City, but spent 16 games in the interim in Quad Cities. Sosa played 35 games in left field, 12 at second base and two in center field. In three seasons since he was drafted in 2011 in the 23rd round, he has played 53 games in left field, 47 games at second base and 21 in center field. Sosa definitely held his own at AAA Oklahoma City in2013, hitting .272/.336/.376 in 46 games there. He is one of two switch hitters on this list and his lefty/righty splits for 2013 are about as even as you can get.

Raoul Torrez gets the frequent flyer award, getting moved eight times during the season. He played four stints in Oklahoma City, three in Lancaster and two in Corpus Christi. He was at second base 22 times, third base 16 times, left field 11 times, short stop nine times and first base three times. His defense appears to have more to do with his movement within the system than his bat, as he provided good defense at most of those positions. The 26-year old Torrez was originally drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 21st round in 2010 and signed with Houston as a minor league free agent prior to the 2013 season.

Raoul Torrez - May 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Joe Sclafani, the Astros 14th round pick in 2012, not only leads this list in on-base percentage, he also has had one of the top OBP marks in the system in his two seasons of play. For the season, he walked two more times (69) than he struck out (67). Sclafani started the season at Quad Cities, but after 19 games, he was promoted to Lancaster. He appeared in 33 games at short stop, 28 at third base and 25 at second base. Sclafani is the second switch hitter on this list. He definitely hit better from the left side of the plate in 2013, but the opposite was true in 2012.

Joe Sclafani - September 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Carlos Perdomo, 23, originally signed with the Phillies organization out of Venezuela in 2007 and came to the Astros as a minor league free agent in 2013. He started the season at Quad Cities, but was promoted to Lancaster after only five games. Perdomo played 25 games at short, 24 at second, 12 at third, one at first and even pitched in a 30-8 blowout in Lancaster. Perdomo was tied with Sclafani for highest batting average among this group of 10 and also took a big step forward in 2013 in terms of on-base percentage (.374 in 2013, .326 career) as he walked 27 times in 66 games while only striking out 16 times.

Of those that finished their seasons at the lower levels of the organization, 22-year old Jose Solano leads in terms of batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. He played 26 games at third base and 20 games at second base. Solano spent all but his final seven games with the Gulf Coast League Astros, receiving a mid-August promotion to Greeneville. He signed with Houston out of the Dominican Republic prior to the 2010 season.

Brian Blasik, who recently turned 24, was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of the University of Dayton in 2012. In 2012, he was the Greeneville Team MVP and a Post-Season All-Star, but he was unable to recreate his 2012 magic at the plate in 2013. However, in eight post-season games for Quad Cities, he hit a healthy .308. Blasik played 19 games at second, 10 at third, three at short and pitched in one game. [UPDATE: I subsequently found out that Brian Blasik retired in the off-season.]

Alex Gonzalez, a 22-year old from Venezuela, came over from the Rangers organization, signing with Houston as a minor league free agent in 2012. He spent his first season stateside with the Gulf Coast League Astros, playing 21 games at third, 20 at second and one at short. With a .356 career OBP, I think we may very well see significant improvement over his 2013 mark in the new season, particularly since he was making strides toward the end of the season.

Arturo Michelena, who turned 19 in October, has played two seasons for the Astros in the Dominican Summer League after having signed out of Venezuela. He played in 36 games at third base, 32 at second base, one at short and one in left. He was also showing improvement toward the end of the season in his ability to get on base.